August 2009

RIP “Bongo” Barry Bernstein

August 31, 2009

The music therapy community lost an influential presence last week with the passing of “Bongo” Barry Bernstein.  I never had the chance to meet him but his work and collaboration with some of my mentors means he had an influence on me. From what I hear, “Bongo” Barry had a good heart, a “zest for [...]

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The Modern-Day Protest Song

August 27, 2009

I hope you’ve heard this story. It’s pretty cool.
David Carroll, a singer-songwriter, tried to work with United Airlines for over a year because they broke his Taylor guitar and refused to cover the repair costs.
So what does Mr. Carroll do to fight this mistreatment? Sue?
Nope! Mr. Carroll promised United he would write 3 songs about [...]

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8 Tried-and-True Ways to Promote your Health and Well-Being

August 25, 2009

On Saturday, Janice Harris of the Music Therapy Show with Janice Harris had me on her show to talk about secondary trauma and self-care. We had a wonderful discussion. And it’s not too late to listen to the show! Click here if you are interested.
I’ve already had feedback from several people about the show. The [...]

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Coming Soon…

August 24, 2009

I am excited to announce that I will soon be launching the Music Therapy Maven email newsletter! This weekly newsletter will include even more information, articles, books reviews, songs, and videos not included elsewhere.
If you like this blog, you will love the newsletter.
So stay tuned…

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Tune In to Secondary Trauma and Self-Care

August 21, 2009

Tune in to The Music Therapy Show with Janice Harris tomorrow, Saturday August 22nd at 3pm MST (5pm EST, 4pm CST, 2pm PST).
I was on the show about 2 months ago talking about my work with trauma-influenced children. A listener asked how I keep from experiencing secondary trauma. In other words, what are some things [...]

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It’s All About the Relationship

August 20, 2009

I was reminded recently about how important our relationships are with out clients. Music therapists often talk about the power of music and how beneficial it is. And it is, but the therapeutic relationship we have with our clients is of primary importance.
One of my clients is the Namaqua Center, a residential treatment center for [...]

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Guest Post: How Do You Advertise Your Music Therapy Services?

August 18, 2009

I am very excited to introduce you to today’s guest blogger. Rachel Rambach is a music therapist I met online, both through her wonderful blog, Listen and Learn Music, and on Twitter. I have yet to meet Rachel in person (I hope to soon!), but can tell from her writings and our online interactions that [...]

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Book Review: Ghosts From the Nursery

August 13, 2009

I have a confession – I actually wrote this book review about a year ago for the biannual newsletter of the Colorado Association for Music Therapy (or CAMT). But, the book had such an effect on me and my practice that I wanted to share it with you. So…here you go:
Ghosts from the Nursery: Tracing [...]

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And the Music Calmed Them

August 11, 2009

This is a post about mental illness. I know a little about mental illness and children, given that I work primarily with trauma-influenced kids. I know less about adult mental illness. But my husband and I just watched the movie The Soloist last night, which got me thinking.
(The Soloist, by the way, is a fantastic [...]

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